Metallic flat clothing has been utilized in the past such as illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,737,953, 3,793,677, 3,936,911 and 4,074,392. The segments of metallic wire are preferably initially secured to an extruded plastic base strip in accordance with a construction illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,911, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein and made a part hereof by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,392 illustrates a clip which is secured by intermediate tabs to the base strip all for the purpose of securing the base strip upon the flat iron. It will be noted that none of the structures illustrated in the aforesaid patents comprise segments of metallic wire which are positively secured to either the extruded base or to the flat casting.
French Pat. No. 1,222,918 published June 14, 1960, shows mounting or setting material above a reduced end of metallic clothing segments with a clip having a pair of spaced legs embracing the setting material, segment ends and flat iron. Such a construction would be impractical, however, as there is no base strip for assembly and retention of the metallic wire segments.
Accordingly, it is an important object of the present invention to provide an assembly wherein segments of metallic wire are secured to a base strip positively with the provision of an assembly formed thereby which may be positively secured to a flat casting for the purpose of providing a unitary construction wherein the segments of metallic wire may not be dislodged and wherein the assembly may be formed with positive securement for the segments of metallic wire with the brackets positively secured thereto for positive positioning upon the flat casting.
Another important object of the invention is to provide a structure for positively attaching segments of metallic wire for carding flats wherein the method of assembly is facilitated through the provision of flat strips which may be, in turn, secured by positively fastened brackets to the flat castings. Such a construction facilitates replacement of worn strips with preassembled strips which may be kept in regular inventory for this purpose.
Another important object of the present invention is the provision of improved flat constructions wherein the possible damage to the card clothing of the other carding elements aside from the flats, is minimized by positive securement of the card clothing to the flats.